


Home For Christmas

by Forlorn Kumquat (sara_wolfe)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, season three spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 08:12:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1091627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_wolfe/pseuds/Forlorn%20Kumquat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight months after leaving Storybrooke, Belle and Neal settle down for their first Christmas as a family. Enter an unexpected visitor...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Rumbelle Secret Santa on Tumblr for **ofchippedcupsanddashingpirates**. Prompt was: Christmas tree, hot cocoa, fluff.

Belle lifted the mug of hot chocolate to her lips and took a small sip. The fire roaring in the stone fireplace actually managed to bring some warmth to Rumple's drafty castle, and the chill that had hung in the air all morning was finally gone. 

At least until the front door slammed open, bringing a freezing wind into the room. 

"Neal!" Belle yelped, clutching the mug closer and trying to regain some semblance of heat. "What are you doing?" she demanded, moving into the foyer. 

The pine tree Neal was currently trying to shove through the door answered that question. Belle set her mug down on a small table, moving to help him, but Neal popped out from behind the tree as soon as she got close. 

"No." Neal shot her a pointed look. "Belle, you are not touching this tree."

"I was going to help you move it," Belle told him, "not sling it over my shoulder and carry it myself. I'm not an invalid, you know."

"No, you're eight months pregnant with my baby brother or sister, and we're in a place that lacks the conveniences of modern prenatal care." Neal shook his head. "And you helping me move this tree is just what we need to turn this into an early-labor cliché. In the middle of a howling blizzard."

"Point taken." Belle moved a safe distance away, watching as Neal dragged the tree the rest of the way through the foyer and into the other room. When he wasn't looking, she shut the heavy front door. "So, if we're in the middle of a howling blizzard-" The wind screaming outside cut through her words. "Why did you feel the need to go outside after a Christmas tree?"

"Because it's Christmas," Neal told her, like it should have been obvious. "And we needed a tree."

Belle shook her head in exasperation. "We didn't have a tree because we weren't even supposed to be here for Christmas," she reminded him. "I hope David and Mary Margaret aren't still expecting us."

"In this weather?" Neal grunted as he heaved the tree up to lean in the corner. "Those two are probably cuddled in bed as we speak, working on making kid number two."

"Don't the dwarves, Ruby, and her grandmother live with them?" Belle asked. 

Neal snorted. "I didn't say it was gonna be easy." He took a step back, eyeing the tree as it leaned, lopsided, against the wall. "Damn, I wish we had a tree stand right now. And electricity."

"We used to put candles on the tree," Belle said. "When I was a child, before my mother died. After, Dad didn't like celebrating the holidays. And Rumple wasn't a fan of 'pointless revelry' as he called it. At least before the curse."

"Didn't you two get at least one Christmas together after the curse was broken?" Neal asked. 

"We did." Belle smiled at the memory. "We'd just gotten Emma and Mary Margaret back, and we had a big celebration for the entire town. Your father even joined in. Especially once we found the mistletoe." 

Neal pulled a face as Belle giggled. "Okay, that was more information than I needed about you two," he told her. 

"I miss Rumple," Belle said, wistfully. "I wish I could tell him-"

She was cut off by the sound of a loud thump coming from the front door. Neal pushed her behind him as he grabbed a heavy metal candlestick off a side table, moving slowly toward the front door. Belle hung back as Neal pulled the door open a crack. 

Then, she sprinted forward as Rumple collapsed through the open door and into his son's arms. 

"Rumple!" She fell to her knees beside Neal, brushing a frozen lock of hair away from his face. "Neal, how?" 

"I don't know." Neal looked just as shocked as she was, holding his father's unconscious body. "He destroyed the Dark One to kill Pan. This shouldn't be possible."

"I don't care," Belle declared. "He's back. I don't care how it happened."

"Yeah," Neal agreed. "Come on. Let's get him over to the fire, where it's warm."

He shifted his grip, dragging Rumple backward toward the fireplace. Belle shoved the door closed and hurried after him. When she got there, Neal had already made a nest of blankets in front of the fireplace and laid his father down, pulling off his stiff, ice-coated coat. Belle grabbed more blankets out of a closet, bundling them securely around Rumple's unmoving form. 

"He's freezing," Neal said, a tremor in his voice that he didn't even bother to hide. "How long was he out in that damn storm?"

"Too long," Belle replied, softly. 

Taking one of Rumple's pale, icy hands between her own, she started rubbing briskly to restore circulation. Neal pulled his too-thin boots off and started on his feet. After she'd gotten color back into the hand she was working on, she switched to the other. 

"Come on, Rumple," she whispered, anxiously. "Wake up. Just for a second. Just so we know you're okay."

As if he'd heard her, Rumple's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment before falling closed again. Belle pressed her lips together in a tight line as she fought back tears. 

"He's going to be okay," she said, determinedly, and Neal reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. 

They got Rumple into warm, dry clothes and built up his makeshift bed. Neither of them wanted to move him away from the fire while he was still so cold. Then, Belle settled down on the floor, with Rumple's head in her lap, combing her fingers through his long hair to get it to dry faster. 

Almost two hours later, Rumple started to stir. He stared up at her in confusion, and then recognition slowly dawned. He reached up and brushed her cheek with still-cool fingers. 

"Belle," he whispered, his voice rough. "My Belle. I found you."

"Rumple." This time, she didn't try to stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks. "Neal! Neal, he's awake!"

"Bae's here?" Rumple rasped out, and Belle nodded, glancing up briefly at the sound of pounding feet. Then, Neal dropped to his knees beside his father. 

"Papa," he murmured. "You're back."

"You're home," Belle added, happily, as Rumple reached out to both of them. "You're home."


End file.
